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Chapter 32 - A Final Plan (CitC)
Not being wanted in a major Kingdom was a welcome change for Tubba. Meloetta and Skeloetta, after treating their worst injuries, took them a few hours south via train, during which Gonzales and Blizzerd both regained consciousness. The flow of blood had finally stopped from Gonzales' head, and Tubba was given bandages as well. His most severe injury would take a few days to grow the scales back on his ankles, but it barely interfered with Tubba. Tubba was thinking more and more about what Clubbette said atop the mountain cliff. He had been awfully close to the edge of scree... the thought of Clubbette wanting to push him off became more likely as Tubba thought deeper about it. GB had been absorbed in his own injuries, Gonzales and Blizzerd were unconscious, Dibby, Meloetta and Skeloetta hadn't arrived yet.... Tubba was positive. If they hadn't shown up, they'd be picking up his parts from the bottom of the cliff when they finally did. Eventually, Tubba took a moment to look at a map of the Waffle Kingdom. They had landed in the Syrup Mountains, the northern region of the Waffle Kingdom. The train ride took them through Grumble Forest, and into the capital of the Waffle Kingdom, Jazzafrazz Town. One of the smaller cities, Jazzafrazz was a quaint little place that the foreigners were quite happy to enjoy in a five-star Inn, being that they all held hefty sums of BeanBean coins (much more valuable than Waffle Coins) from their exploits in the Glitz Pit. Days passed with Tubba staying away from Clubbette, with his friends Gonzales, GB and Blizzerd healing, and Meloetta and Skeloetta attempting to catch up with the battlers and what had been going on. Apparently, the two Boo sisters had come to the Waffle Kingdom expecting Tubba to be there searching for his half-sister. Tubba was quite indignant when he learnt that story, mincing no words in explaining his horrible relationship with Clubbette. Happier times were to come when a Koopa Kingdom vessel docked at Jazzafrazz Town. Four other battlers came alongside the Koopa Kingdom party, which included Ludwig and Lemmy: Shazam, Aaron, Darius and Xavier. The only ones missing from their number were Parin and Lukki, who, according to Darius, had gone to Decalburg. Still, it was quite comforting to have every other battler, from Aaron to Skeloetta with them now. Being in the capital, Ludwig paid a visit to Queen Éclair in an effort to get the Waffle Kingdom on their side in the war, yet he returned with a grim look. "No luck. She vants no place in zis var." Ludwig had addressed them all in the Inn's lobby, settling down in a soft black plush chair designed for Toads, which promptly broke under his weight. The Waffle Kingdom was different from any other Kingdom in the Mushroom World, for that they lacked a distinct native species. The Zaz Kingdom had Iglators, the BeanBean Kingdom; Beans, Mushroom Kingdom; Toads, Clubba Kingdom; Clubbas, and Koopa Kingdom; Koopas. Rather, they seemed to be built up of an amalgamation of all other species, although ancient history suggested that they once had a species known as Luffs. The Koopa Kingdom party had continued living in their submarine that they had brought to the Waffle Kingdom, while the battlers all took up residence at the Waffle Inn. Gonzales and Blizzerd were rooming together in the inn, still needing intensive levels of care. Blizzerd's magical barrier had completely collapsed, so he needed to swallow potions daily, whereas Gonzales' skin on his forehead was only just beginning to scab over, having actually been pierced, contrary to what Tubba thought originally, and needed to be disinfected daily. The other battlers split up in groups of two; Clubbette and Dibby, Shazam and Aaron, Darius and Xavier, Meloetta and Skeloetta, and Tubba was sharing a room with GB. A few more days passed before Ludwig summoned them all in the lobby once again. Most of the minor injuries had healed, with Tubba's right ankle the most severe of the minor injuries, the new scales still small, so that patches and cracks of pink skin could be seen between them. "Right, vell," Ludwig began as those who could fight assembled in the lobby, "vee are ready for a final assault on zee Mushroom Kingdom." The Koopa Kingdom had been granted use of the hotel lobby by Éclair for meetings granted that the Koopa Kingdom paid a discounted fee. Those who had no business listening in on the meetings were escorted out through the back entrance, and Koopatrols were blocking every entrance. The lobby itself had a high, arching twenty foot ceiling, and plenty of space between the till and the front door, the floor made of marble and parts of it carpeted with green. "Top Koopa generals have decided zat zee Clubba Kingdom is zee ideal place to start. Only a few hours from zee Koopa Kingdom using our airships, vee can annex zat land and go from zere." Ludwig explained, looking over the ten fit battlers. "Don't you mean liberate?" Tubba shot at Ludwig from his position behind Xavier. He was as far away from Clubbette as humanly possible, with six battlers strewn between them. He knew it was a longshot, but if there was any chance he could free his Kingdom without having to double-cross the Koopa Kingdom, he would take it. "Not zis again..." Ludwig snarled, his eyes picking Tubba out of the crowd. "You are Koopa Kingdom servants. As far as ozzers need to know, you are a special branch of zee Koopa Troop." "What?" Xavier voiced his doubts from in front of Tubba, "I never agreed to be part of the Koopa Troop!" "Vell, vee kind of assumed zat you vould agree vhen you needed our medical support to save your life!" Ludwig shot back, before adding, "anyvone who doesn't ''vant to be a part of zee Koopa Troop vill be treated as a prizzoner of var and likely executed after zee var. Any more objections?" Everyone nodded mutely, many of them glaring down the heir to the Koopa throne. Darius opened his mouth to say something, but after clear second thought, closed it and nodded mutely with the rest of the battlers. "Right." Ludwig said, clearly satisified with the response. "As I vas saying, vonce vee ''annex zee Clubba Kingdom, zere vill likely be more ''grateful ''Clubbas in zere, and vee vill swell our numbers vith zem. Vee vill have more zan enough firepower to conquer zat narrow strips of land between zee Koopa Kingdom and zee newly annexed part, and betveen zee Koopa Kingdom and zee sea. Vonce vee have zose parts under our command, vee can stop. I sink zat'll be enough to vin zee var, and vee can organize a treaty vith zee Mushroom Kingdom. Zen, vee'll set you free from your bondage to our Kingdom, and you can go back to killing each ozzer in zee Glitz Pit. Any qvestions?" While there were various questions from the other battlers, none were of any importance to Tubba. Rather, his mind was formulating his own plan. One that could put Ludwig's plans in jeopardy, and liberate his own Kingdom. A plan that would no longer leave the Clubba Kingdom an isolated mini-Kingdom, but it's own, powerful Kingdom.